Towel dispensing apparatus



@d. 9, 1934. A. QVERHOLT 1,976,087

TOWEL DISPENS ING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 19, 1932 4 Sheets-$heet 1 ATTORNE Yd A. L. OVERHOLT TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 19, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTOR'NEYJP @d. 9, 1934. A. L. OVERHOLT 1,976,,087

TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 19, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 [7t venzoz /4L BERT L (OI/EKHOL r ATTQENE Ks @wb 9 W34. A. L. OVERHOLT TOWEL DISPENS ING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 19, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4,

ALBERTL,UVEEHQLT V ATTQE EYd Patented Get. 9, 1934 UNHTED STATES PATE. FFifiE rower. nrsrnnsrne APPARATUS A Albert Overhoit, Minneapolis, Minn, assignor r to Steiner Sales Company, Salt Lake City, Utah,

a corporation of Utah Application September 19, 1932, Serial No. 633,769

22 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for dispensing toweling and has for its principal object the provision of mechanism for automatically speeding up the usual wind-up roll when the end or" the clean towel supply is reached so as to wind up the end of the towel and withdraw it from sight and out of reach of the person using the same.

Heretofore, towel dispensing apparatus have been so arranged that when the supply of toweling is exhausted, the end of the toweling is exposed and remains within reach or" a user because the person in charge of the apparatus is not a ways present to reload when the supply of towel- -ing is exhausted. Sometimes this end of the toweling presents an unsightly appearance and is often used by several persons because there is no fresh supply of toweling at hand.

It has been suggested that this difificulty may be overcome by providing a mechanism which can be set by the person in charge of the cabinet at the time it is loaded to operate to take up the end of the toweling when the supply is exhausted. Such devices depend upon the attention of the person in charge of the cabinet and require him a manual operation necessary to produce the desired result and hence the apparatus is to that extent not used for its intended purpose.

The device of my invention does not depend upon the person in charge of the apparatus and requires no manual setting or other act upon the part of that person. My device is entirely automatic and becomes active at the time when the toweling is substantially exhausted to wind up the end of the toweling and to withdraw it from 40. sight and reach of further users.

Another object of my invention is to provide automatic operable mechanism for winding up the end of the toweling, the said mechanism being so arranged as to become operable at the right time so as to wind up the end of the toweling.

Other objects of my invention are to provide a simple and emcient mechanism of the character described composed of few moving parts and which can be inexpensively made and which will 1not require costly maintenance or other operating expense.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following detailed description.

The invention consists generally in various con- OJ structions and combination all as hereinafter de- I scribed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a towel cabinet embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 22 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the position assumed by the control mechanism when the supply of clean toweling is practically exhausted, the forward tilting position of the inner section being indicated by dotted lines;

Figure 4 is a sectional View on the line 44 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 2, showing the clutch mechanism in its release position;

Figure 6 is a sectional view of one end of the drive roll showing the clutch mechanism in its clutching position;

Figure 7 is a sectional view of the clutch drive on the line 77 of Figure 4;

Figure 8 is a sectional view of the normal driving mechanism of the rolls on section 88 of Figure l;

Figure 9 is a view of the take-up or driven roll showing the position of the normal and auxiliary or clutch drive mechanism;

Figure 10 is a detailed view showing the clutch mechanism in its release position;

Figure 11 is a similar View showing the clutch mechanism in its clutching position;

Figure 12 is asectional View on the line 12-12 of Figure 10; and

Figure 13 is a detailed sectional view of a modified construction.

In the drawing 2 represents the outer portion or section of a towel cabinet made of any suitable size convenient for use and of suitable material, preferably sheet metal. ihis section is open at the front and normally closed by a suitable door as usual in cabinets of this type.

Within this outer section 2 I provide an inner section, also preferably of metal, consisting of side plates 3, a cross or back plate 4 held securely in proper relative position by suitable means, such as rod 5 connecting the side plates within the cabinet. This inner section is suspended on the side walls of the outer section by suitable pivots 7 which allow the inner section to swing forward and backward a limited distance for loading purposes, as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 3. The lower portion of the inner section has a wall 8, also preferably of sheet metal, adapted to receive a supply of clean towel 9 and form of used towel is removed from view.

a holder therefor, the clean towel unwinding when a pull is applied to deliver a supply to the user. A spring catch device 10 normally engages the wall 8 and prevents the inner section from swinging forward prematurely. This catch may, however, be conveniently moved to a release position when it is desired to move the inner section forward for loading purposes.

Above the towel supply is a feed or rough surface delivery roll 11 preferably mounted in the side walls of the inner section toward the front thereof, and above this feed roll is a pinch roll 12 that is adapted to slide vertically within irregular slots 13 provided in the side walls of the inner section. The end of the clean towel is stretched upwardly to pass around this pinch roll and the inner portion of the pinch roll is in the rear of the forward portion of the roll 11 so that the web of towel will contact with the roughened surface of the roll 11 and when the end of the towel is extended downwardly through an opening 14 in the bottom of the cabinet to form a loop beneath it and a pull is exerted by the user thereon, the pinch roll will be dragged downwardly to press the towel web against the surface of roll 11 and cause this roll to be revolved also.

A take-up or driven roll 15 is mounted in the side walls of the inner section adjacent, and preferably above, the roll 11 and is driven at the same speed as the roll 11, through a belt 16 which connects a sprocket 17 on the shaft of the roll 11 with a corresponding sprocket 18 that is loosely mounted on the shaft of the roll 15. The hub of the sprocket 18 is provided with a ratchet 19 and spring actuated dogs 20 mounted on the end of the roll 15 engage with the teeth of the ratchet 19 whereby the roll 15 may be driven through the belt 16 from the feed roll 11, and also have a revolution independently of its driving connection with the feed roll, as will hereinafter be described in detail.

Slots 21 are provided in the upper portion of the side walls of the inner section to receive the shaft of a roll 22 whereon the soiled towel is wound. This roll sliding in said slots allows the roll of soiled towel to rest by gravity upon the take-up or driven roll and be revolved by frictional contact therewith to wind up the soiled towel, which in loading the cabinet is carried up through an opening 23 in the bottom of the outer section between the rear wall or the floor and the wall of the holder 8. This wall 8 is preferably provided with a backwardly turned flange 24 having a rounded edge which will serve as a means for guiding and smoothing the web of soiled towel during its upward movement. I prefer also to provide a curved guiding member 25 mounted on the rear wall of the inner section and projecting forwardly in front of the wall 8 to engage the soiled towel and operate as a tensioning means to prevent the web from creeping on the soiled roll and holding the roll down upon the driven or take-up roll.

' In cabinets of this type it is desirable to pro- ;vide automatic means for withdrawing the loop of soiled towel, when the clean supply has been practically exhausted, to such a position that it will substantially be concealed and thereby in the use of the cabinet the soiled unsightly loop With this end in view I provide a mechanism forming the principal feature of this invention, and which I will now describe in detail.

The drive roll 11 is provided on one end with a. loosely mounted sprocket 26 having a clutch member 27 on its outer face. 28 represents the other member of the clutch slidably mounted on the spindle 29 of the roll 11 and guided in its longitudinal movement by a slot 30 and pin 31, the arrangement being such that when the member 28 is in its clutching position the sprocket 26 will be locked on the roll and when the member 28 is in its release position the sprocket will be idle and this will be the normal state of the sprocket when the towel cabinet is loaded and ready for delivery of the clean towel.

A lever 32 is pivotally supported intermediate to its ends at 32' and has a fork 33 at one end to engage the clutch member 28 and the opposite end of the lever has an arm 34 provided with shoulders 35 and 36, an opening 37 being provided in the side wall of the inner section wherein the arm 34 has a sliding movement. A lever 38 is pivoted on the side wall of the inner section at a point intermediate to its ends and one end of this lever normally engages the shoulder 35 to hold the lever 32 and the clutch in their release position against the tension of a spring 39. (See Figure 5.) Evidently, when the lever 38 is disengaged from the shoulder 35 the spring 39 will actuate the lever 32 and move it to the position indicated in Figure 6, therebs throwing the clutch to its operating position and locking the sprocket 26 on the shaft of the feed roll. This release of the lever 32 takes place at a certain predetermined point in the use of the cabinet, normally when the supply of clean towel is practically exhausted, and is preferably effected by the following described mechanism. 40 is a lever pivoted intermediate to its ends and has one end in position to engage and actuate the weighted end of the lever 38. A rod 41 extends horizontally across the inner section of the cabinet and is provided with an arm 42 which normally rests by gravity upon the supply of clean towel. As the roll of towel diminishes in diameter the arm will drop, as indicated in Figure 3, and when a certain predetermined point is reached, a dog 43 adjustably secured on the end of the rod 42 by suitable means, such as a set screw 44, will engage the lever 40, tilt it on its pivot, actuate the lever 38 to release the lever 32 and allow the clutch to assume its clutching position to drive the sprocket 26. By means of the adjustable dog the releasing point of the arm 42 may be varied.

It will be noted from an inspection of Figs. 1, 2 and 3 that the arm or yoke 42 has an upward curvature. With the arm or yoke so constructed it will be apparent that it is impossible to load the cabinet without lifting up the said arm or yoke into its operative position as shown in Fig. 1.

The take-up or driven roll 15 has a sprocket 45 thereon of smaller size than the sprocket 26, in this case preferably one-half the size, and a belt 46 connects the sprockets, 26 and 45, so that when the feed roll is operated, following the locking of the sprocket 26, movement will be imparted to the take-up or driven roll, with this arrangement of the sprockets, at twice the speed of the delivery roll, and consequently the soiled towel will be taken up twice as fast as the clean towel is delivered, reducing the visible length of the loop below the cabinet and finally drawing it up against the bottom of the cabinet where it will be practically concealed from view, and will remain in this position until the attendant is ready to reload the cabinet.

At this time the inner section will be swung forwardly on its pivot to the loading position, the

supply of soiled towel removed and the clutch automatically thrown to its release position by means of an arm 47 pivoted at 48 on the rear wall of the outer section of the cabinet and loosely supported in a guide 49 on the inner section projecting horizontally between the side wall of the section and the lever 32. The forward end of this arm has a cam 50 thereon, which when the inner section is moved forward to its loading position will automatically engage the lever 32, throw the clutch to its release position and allow the sprocket 26 to again turn freely on the shaft of the delivery roll. The roll of clean towel may be then placedin the holder, at the bottom of the inner section, the attendant raising the arm 42 to allow for such insertion. The raising of this arm will disengage the dog 43 from the lever 40 and allow the weighted end of the lever 38 to swing downwardly and move its opposite end into engagement with the shoulder 35, thereby locking the sliding clutch member in its release position. The operator may then form a loop of desired length below the cabinet, stretch the end of the web to the soiled towel roll, swing the inner sec- .tion back to its normal working position and the cabinet will be ready for use.

In Figure 13 I have shown a modified construction which consists in arranging both of the driving connections between the delivery and takeup roll at the same end of the rolls instead of having one connection at one end of the roll and the other at the other end, as previously described. The operation of the driving connections, however, will be substantially as heretofore 35 described, and I will designate them by the same the arm 42 will drop until a predetermined point is reached, when the dog 43 will trip the release lever, the clutch will be allowed to move to its clutching position and further revolution of the rolls will cause the take-up or winding 50 ';roll to operate at a greater speed than the feed roll and wind up the soiled towel faster than the clean portion is delivered. This will result in reducing the length of the loop below the cabinet until a point is reached when the towel web will be drawn snugly against the bottom of the cabinet or in a position closely adjacent portion of the towel and use it for wiping purposes. Thus one of the objections to the use of a cabinet of this type will be effectually eliminated. 7

When the attendant desires to reload the cabinet, the inner section will be moved forward and in so doing the clutch will be moved automatically and positively to its release position making idle the auxiliary drive between the rolls and allowing the attendant to rotate these rolls in unison at the same speed, and adjust the towel web to form a loop of desired length below the cabinet. When this has been done, the inner section is returned to its normal position within the cabinet and the apparatus is again ready for use. In various ways the details of the construction herein shown and described may be modified and still be within the scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. Apparatus for dispensing toweling including a feed roll and a wind-up roll, means connecting said rolls whereby rotation of said feed roll will produce an equal rotation of said wind-up roll, and means actuated when the toweling is substantially exhausted for increasing rotation of said wind-up roll by rotation of said feed roll, whereby the end of said toweling is wound up.

2. Apparatus for dispensing toweling including a feed roll and a wind-up roll, a driving connection between said rolls whereby rotation of said feed roll will cause an equal rotation of said wind-up roll, a second driving connection between said rolls whereby rotation of said feed roll will cause greater rotation of said wind-up roll, and means actuated when the toweling is substantially exhausted for rendering said first mentioned driving connection inoperative and second mentioned driving connection operative, whereby the end of said toweling is wound up.

3. Apparatus for dispensing toweling including a feed roll and a wind-up roll, a driving connection between said rolls whereby rotation of said feed roll will cause a greater rotation of said wind-up roll, said driving connection being normally inoperative, and means actuated when the supply of toweling is substantially exhausted for rendering said driving connection operative, whereby the end of the toweling is wound up.

4. Apparatus for dispensing toweling including a feed roll and a take-up roll, driving means between said rolls whereby rotation of said feed roll will cause a greater rotation of said wind-up roll, said driving means being normally disconnected from said feed roll, and means actuated when the supply of toweling is substantially exhausted for connecting said driving means to said feed roll, whereby rotation of said feed roll will cause the end of the toweling to be wound up by said windup roll.

- 5. Apparatus for dispensing toweling including a feed roll and a wind-up roll, driving means between said rolls and normally operative to cause equal rotation of said wind-up roll by said feed roll, a second driving means between said rolls operative to cause a greater rotation of said windup roll by said feed roll, means actuated when the toweling is substantially exhausted for rendering said second driving means operative, and means for simultaneously rendering said first mentioned driving means inoperative.

6. Apparatus for dispensing toweling including a feed roll and a wind-up roll, driving means between said rolls normally operative to cause equal rotation of said rolls and permitting independent rotation of said wind-up roll, a second driving means between said rolls normally inactive for increasing the speed of said wind-up roll and mechanism in position to engage a clean towel web and controlled thereby for rendering said second driving means operative to wind up the soiled towel faster than the delivery of the clean towel.

'7. In a towel dispensing cabinet, a feed roll and a wind-up roll having a driving connection between them for simultaneous movement and to allow said wind-up roll to rotate independently of the feed roll, a second driving connection between said rolls normally inoperative for increasing the speed of said wind-up roll, a clutch mechanism for rendering said second driving connection operative or inoperative, and a lever mechanism associated with a supply of clean towel and becoming operative at a predetermined point in the use of the clean towel, for shifting such clutch mechanism to its clutching position to actuate said wind-up roll.

8. Apparatus for dispensing toweling including a feed roll and a wind-up roll, driving means between said rolls normally operative to drive said rolls at equal speed and permit independent rotation of said wind-up roll, a second driving means between said rolls for operating said windup roll at greater speed and normally inoperative, a clutch device for rendering said second driving means operative or inoperative, a lever for normally holding said clutch device in its clutching position, means for automatically moving the lever to clutching position, a locking means for normally holding said lever in de-clutching position, a tilting adapted. to rest normally upon a roll of clean towel and drop by gravity as the towel roll becomes smaller, and means actuated by the dropping of said arm to release said lock device and allow said tilting lever and clutch to move to a clutching position.

9. Apparatus for di pensing toweling including a feed roll and wind-up roll, driving means between said rolls and normally operative to cause equal rotation of said wind-up roll by said feed roll, a second driving means between said rolls operative to cause a faster rotation of said windup roll by said feed roll, a clutch mechanism for rendering said second driving means active or inactive, a spring actuated o" lating lever for normally holding said clutch in its clutching pojsition, means for locking said lever in its release position, and mechanism associated with the supply of clean towel for tripping said locking means at a predetermined point in the delivery of the clean towel.

10. A towel cabinet having an inner section, means whereby said inner section is adapted to be moved to a loading position, feed and wind-up rolls mounted in said inner section and having a driving connection between them for simultaneous movement, a second driving connection between said rolls normally inoperative for rotating said wind-up roll at a greater speed than said feed roll, a clutch mechani m for rendering said second driving connection operative or inoperative, means associated with a clean towel supply ing means between said rolls normally inoperative and adapted to rotate said wind-up roll at a greater speed than said feed roll, a mechanism actuated when the clean toweling is substantially exhausted for rendering said second driving means operative to wind up the soiled towel at a greater speed than the delivery of the clean towel, and a pivoted arm adjacent said second driving means and having means thereon for actuating said mechanism to render said second driving means in perative when said holder is moved to its loading position.

12. In a towel dispensing cabinet, a clean towel delivery roll and a soiled towel wind-up roll, a

driving connection at one end of said rolls for operating them simultaneously, said wind-up roll having freedom of revolution independently of said delivery roll, a second driving means at the other end of said rolls normally idle for actuating said wind-up roll faster than said delivery roll, a clutch mechanism for said second driving means, and means becoming automatically operative at a predetermined period for moving said clutch to its clutching position to wind up the soiled towel faster than the delivery of the clean towel for the purpose specified.

13. Apparatus for dispensing toweling including a feed roll and a wind-up roll, means connecting said rolls whereby rotation of said feed roll will produce an equal rotation of said wind-up roll,

means actuated when the toweling is substantially exhausted for increasing rotation of said windup roll by rotation of said feed roll, whereby the soiled end of the toweling is wound up, a movably mounted towel holder wherein said rolls are mounted having a forward movement to a loading position, and means for rendering said rotation increasing means temporarily inactive when said holder is moved to such loading position.

14. In a towel dispensing cabinet, a feed roll and a wind-up roll. having a driving connection between them for simultaneous movement, a second driving connection between said rolls normally inoperative for i creasing the speed of said wind-up roll, a movably mounted towel holder wherein said rolls are mounted having a movement to a loading position, a clutch mechanism for rendering said second driving connection operative or inoperative, means associated with the clean towel supply for shifting such clutch mechanism at a predetermined period to its clutching position to actuate said wind-up roll at an increased speed, and mechanism for automatically moving said clutch mechanism to its release position when said holder is moving to its loading position.

15. Apparatus for dispensing toweling including a feed roll and a wind-up roll, means connecting said rolls whereby rotation of said feed roll will produce a proportionate rotation of said wind-up roll, and means actuated when the toweling is substantially exhausted for increasing the rotation of said wind-up roll by rotation of said feed roll, whereby the end of said toweling is wound up.

16. Apparatus for dispensing toweling including a feed roll and a wind-up roll, means connecting said rolls whereby rotation of said feed roll will produce a pie-determined rate or rotation of said wind-up roll, and means actuated when the toweling is substantially exhausted for increasing the initial rate of rotation of said wind-up roll by rotation of said feed roll, whereby the end of said toweling is wound up.

17. In an apparatus for dispensing toweling including a feed roll and a wind-up roll, mechanism connecting said rolls for movement in unison,'

erative including a lever, means for automatically moving the lever to clutch-in position, locking means for normally locking the lever in clutchout position, means having a part controlled by the clean toweling supply to move by gravity as the towel supply dwindles, and means actuated as a result of dropping of said part to release said lever-locking means to allow automatic motion of the lever to clutch-in positon.

19. An apparatus for dispensing toweling including a feed roll and a wind-up roll, mechanism connecting said rolls for movement in unison at predetermined relative rates of rotation, normally inoperative mechanism for independently moving the rolls to have the wind-up roll move at a greater relative rate or" speed than that attained by the first mechanism, a trip mechanism adapted to control the last mentioned mechanism to obtain increased rate of rotation of the wind-up roll, and means associated with said trip mechanism for preventing improper loading of the cabinet.

20. A towel dispensing apparatus having means operable as a result of pullin out of a length of clean toweling by the user for taking up the soiled toweling, means for modifying the action of the take-up means when the towel supply is exhausted or near exhaustion to obtain accelerated take-up action, said means including an element which engages the towel during unwinding of the clean towel, said element having means which after exhaustion of the clean toweling supply assumes such a position as to prevent introduction of a new roll of toweling into the apparatus until such towel-engaging element is moved to another predetermined position.

21. An apparatus for dispensing toweling including a feed roll and a wind-up roll, means connecting the rolls so that the rotation of the feed roll will produce a predetermined speed of rotation of the wind-up roll, means actuated when the toweling is substantially exhausted for increasing the speed of rotation of the wind-up roll by rotation of said feed roll, including an element which engages the towel during unwinding of the clean towel, said element having means which after exhaustion of the clean toweling supply assumes such a position as to prevent introduction of a new roll of toweling into the apparatus until the towel-engaging element is moved to another predetermined position.

22. An apparatus for dispensing toweling including outer and inner casings, the inner casing pivoted within the outer to be swung outwardly to loading position, towel dispensing mechanism mounted on the inner casing including a feed roll and a wind-up roll, first driving means connecting said rolls for rotation in unison, a second driving means connecting the rolls for rotation in unison to accelerate wind-up roll action, a clutch device for rendering the second driving means operative or inoperative, a lever for controlling the clutch device and means for automatically moving the lever to clutch-in position, latching means for normally holding the lever in clutchout position, means operated by the clean toweling as the supply dwindles to release the latching means and allow the lever to move automatically to clutch-in position, and means operative as a result of movement of the inner casing to loading position for moving the lever to and holding it in clutch-out position, and in position to he latched when the clean-towel-operated means is moved to clean-towel-roll-engaging position.

ALBERT L. OVERHGLT. 

